Colliding Seas
by wanderingsouls
Summary: AU: It's a fight against time and the unknown seas as Killian Jones and Emma Swan team together to track down a pirate's long lost treasure, who will come on top as the most feared pirate of the nine realms?
1. Chapter 1

The chatter was louder than usual in the pub as I silently walked through. My crew on my heels as eyes scanned the crowd of jolly, talkative villagers. A barmaid looked up from her post and the glass of beer she held slid out of her grasp, shattering onto the stone floor. By tables the room quieted down as the cheerful faces were replaced with fear. A smirk toyed on my face while I leaned to the shaking barmaid. I held the hook to her throat, my eyes never leaving hers as I pushed her brunette curls behind her. I slowly grasped the mug off the counter and whisked it back over her shoulder.  
"Tell me, lass. What's tonight's jolly chatter about?"  
She cleared her throat before opening her mouth to speak but another voice cut through the silence. 

"It's unlike you, captain, to show up to parties you weren't invited to."

I knew that voice all too well, I couldn't help but feel the cheeky smile curve on my face. I turned my attention from the barmaid to the lass standing on the bar counter. She hadn't changed one bit over the years. She was dresses head to toe with leather, a bright red scarf hung around her slim waist loosely while her red shirt and vest clung to her chest. She threw back her coat and her shimmering gold hair fell back in waves behind her. I felt my irritation starting to rise after a moment of silence.

"I wouldn't use the word "uninvited" I'd use "late" as a better preference."

She walked over to me with predatory steps, her eyes unreadable as she knelt down in front me, her face aligning with mine. My eyes went up to her tricorne, with a swan feather sewn directly into it. She smirked and held up a hand to her rising men. 

"Gentle, lads. The dreadful Captain Hook doesn't know," she murmured seeing the glimmering hook shine underneath the candle light.  
"What do I not know of?" I asked holding my hook to her unscathed, sun tanned cheek. This caused her to smile at my attempt attempt to be threatening. She stood and jumped off the bar. 

"Blackbeard's ship went down a fortnight ago." I couldn't control my face as it raised in complete shock. The most feared pirate of them all had finally gotten taken up by the seas? The thought was nearly impossible. It explained to why the whole village was cramped into this pub, they were obviously celebrating the dreaded pirate's death. 

"Some of the survivors from his ship say a Obessa took the beauty down." Emma said walking around tables, her fingers trailing over the villagers chests.

"Why should I care if that old bastard is dead?" I challenged, watching her every move. Emma turned, her emerald eyes meeting mine with a burning intensity and a hint of playfullness. 

"Word on the high sea is that before his death Blackbeard discovered Serpent Sam's treasure cove." 

This had me more than intrigued, Serpent Sam was one of the most ruthless pirates long before Blackbeard. Serpent Sam was known to take over naval and pirate ships with no mercy. He was greedy and yet very protective over the forty years on the sea. Before the gold hungry bastard was captured and hung, he had hidden it in a cove faraway from any thieves. Known to be in the most dangerous lands of all. 

"And how did he manage this?" I inquired, Emma Swan was a woman who had a talent to call out a man's lie but trick them into her own. Her hair swung back over her shoulder as she gave me a playful smile. 

"He had figured out Serpent Sam's damned treasure map and sailed to it."

"A wizard couldn't even read that map, how could he managed to read it himself?"

This caused Emma to turn to me, a giant smile on her face as she held up a finger giving me a laugh.

"That's where we're stuck, Captain, my men and I have been on the search for a couple of nights to find any information on Blackbeard."

"And yet you have found none, what a shame," I turned to my men giving them a promising look. Before I could let two words out that damned woman shut me up.

"It's a race now, Hook," she laughed, I slowly turned and faced her.

"What are mumbling about?"

Emma waltzed right up to me, I tried my best to keep my distance but she invaded my privacy immediately. She placed a hand on my chest, toying with my leather coat. Her fingers played over the buttons and then to my necklace, my heart nearly jumped out of my throat when she started tugging on the chain, trying to reveal what I had tucked in my vest.

I smacked her hand away which caused her to give me a look of pure irritation. "I asked you a question, lass," I growled growing tired of her mind games.

"It's a race now, Hook, every pirate of the seas is going to be spending their time finding that damned treasure and to be claimed as the number one feared pirate of all the nine realms."

I raised my eyebrow feeling Smee come up to my side, "Because Blackbeard was the most feared pirate of all, that means someone else has to take the place." I muttered watching her walk back to her crew.

"Exactly, Hook, you're catching onto it now! You better drink up and prepare for one hell of a voyage for tomorrow is going to be the start of a very interesting game."

I whipped my head back to her, "And what the bloody hell makes you think I want to be part of this lunacy?" I hissed. Emma smiled taking a sip of her rum, that smile nearly made me want to throw my dagger right into her chest.

"Because a pirate like you wouldn't dare come second to a female like me,"

"What makes you think you'll find the treasure?"

"Because I already know something the other pirates don't."

"And what's that?"

"I know where I can find the map."

It was my turn to walk up to her, her men moved away parting away from me. The pub was still silent as I made my way to her, I could see her eyes were full of complete interest and had a flash of complete awe towards me.

"Why are you telling me all this, Emma?" I asked staring into her moss eyes for my answer. She played with the rim of her glass and looked up.

"Because once I get that map, every pirate will be after me and I'm gonna need your help,"

"You're bribing me with that treasure? Emma, I've heard better deals from a poor man." Her eyes narrowed at me.

"What do you want, Hook?" she hissed crossing her arms, I smirked and touched a soft curl. I could see her tense up at my sensitive touch. No doubt she was still harboring feelings for me.

"I want the title, Emma," I whispered immediately she shook her head the exact reaction I was expecting.

"No deal, Hook, I'll never hand over that title."

"Nor will you ever get it because you'll get murdered or sunk just like the idiot Blackbeard,"

"Which you knew nothing about until a half hour ago,"

"Do you want my protection or shall I kill you already?" Quickly, I grasped her by the arm and my hook was at her throat. Her eyes bore into mine with no such fear or anger but it was with mere pride. Emma's crew stood up but she held a hand up to them, her eyes slicked back over to mine.

"You and I both know you can't kill me, Hook, I'm your only tie to that title and you're my only way to getting that treasure, face it, we both need each other for once."

She was so right that it nearly drove me mad with anger, I could stand there and lie but she and I both knew I couldn't jab this hook into her throat nor could I give up the opportunity of taking the title that rightly belonged to me. I sighed and released her, I could almost feel her smile of victory as I walked away from her.

"At dawn, Swan, and not a moment sooner. I shall make my men get the materials needed." I yelled going up to Smee who gave me a look of disapproval.

"Do not say a word, Smee, you and I both know this is a glorious opportunity."

"For you to get killed, Captain," he sighed rubbing his balding head. I stepped out of the pub and was greeted with a brisk evening air. One of my cabin boys, Thomas, approached me from leaning off the nearest wall.

"Captain Hook, is there anything I can get you? Did the pub not satisfy your needs?" He asked me, I looked down at him and patted his head, he was nor a year over fourteen but he was already maturing like the real man and pirate he is.

"Aye, I got exactly what I needed from the pub,"

"Especially, a deal with Emma Swan," Smee muttered angrily.

"The most feared female pirate of the seas?"

"And the filthiest whore of them all," I heard one of my men bark, I stopped in my tracks and faced them.

"What was that, lad? I daresay you didn't just mutter an insult to that woman? Do not forget she's just as lethal as me but I have the advantage of throwing you off my ship anytime I see fit. Do not talk bad about any pirate, especially her."

Sure, the damn lass drove me mad with anger and I dreamed of choking the life out of her, but I have a moral duty to not listen one bad word spoken about her.

_She is afterall my ex-wife. _


	2. Chapter 2

By the first croak from the rooster, I saw Emma wander out of the pub with a strange man behind her. His eyes never left her arise as she shrugged into her coat; she turned and patted the gent on the chest while her hand snaked around his backside. I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face seeing she was still up to her dirty tricks. The man leaned in to kiss her lips but she leaned back out, giving a soft giggle then turning away from him.

Emma walked towards the dock and I straightened my face out into an irritable look.

"Still, pulling the pickpocket trick, Swan?"

Her eyes didn't even try to conceal the heavy purse of coin she'd taken from the oblivious lad. She smirked at me, holding up the purse to my face before swinging around behind me.

"Old habits die hard, don't they?" She laughed stepping onto her ship where her crew was already mercilessly working to get everything started. I sighed and followed her onto the deck, shadowing her to the Captain's quarters. She swung the door open and threw the purse onto her desk before removing her coat. I went straight to the globe that sat right at the window.

"So, where the devil am I steering my ship to?" I muttered spinning the globe with my hook, the damn thing was nearly glimmering in the early morning hours. Emma looked up from her desk and tossed a map at me. She stood, rolling up her sleeves and running a hand through her long golden hair.

"That map will give you all the coordinates to use, but if you get lost you can always follow my ship," she joked fixing her belt around her slim waist. I walked up to her and caught a curl with my hook; her eyes lifted and looked from my hook to my face. I gently let the curl slide through the curled weapon. Smiling, I looked at her.

"Your hair has gotten long," I murmured, she yanked the strand back, going straight to her desk.

"Hair grows, Hook, especially in eight years." I knew I had managed to strike a chord between us, so I stood back clutching the map in my hand. I was foolish to do such a thing, to be so close of her and not think of the consequences. I was already reaping them now. The silence was unwelcoming so I took my leave without another word.

It was obvious she was still bitter from that day long ago, and it was obvious that she still had a grudge against me. Our split was a mutual agreement but we both could agree that our feelings were still dormant. As much as I didn't want to admit it but it was true, I still cared for the crazy woman. She did too, and I knew it but with Emma sharing her feelings was everything but easy.

I walked up to the mast and handed Smee the directions and started having him bark the orders to my crew. I heard Emma's voice rise over Smee and I turned my head to see her standing and watching over her men. Emma had only had her ship for six years and in that small time frame she had managed to claim the seas and plant fear into most of the ruthless pirates out there.

But being an orphan can do that to you, it made her strong and guarded but emotionally incomplete. She always struggled with finding her home and to this very day, I'm sure she still hasn't found it. Even when we were married, she wasn't happy enough nor did she feel complete. And unfortunately that's what separated us. Emma's head turned towards me and I didn't dare move my eyes from hers. There in her emerald eyes, after all these years, still held loneliness.

It was a little in the afternoon when we had finally come into the village that held the damned map. My men were already tired and angry from having to trail Emma's ship. I was among the faces of angry men that wanted nothing more than to already stop this damned protection. After we had docked, Emma waited for me at the edge of the village.

"Well, where's this legendary map?" I said raising my arms seeing crowds of people move along the docks, none of them fully aware that two full pirate ships have docked. Emma sighed and knocked her head toward one pirate pub. One that I was well acquainted with and one that held a pirate that was more dirty than actually rich.

"You're telling me that, that dirty imbecile has the map?" Her smirk was the answer I wasn't hoping for. She patted me on the face before picking up my hook.

"He was the only survivor to get the map when Blackbeard went down," I scoffed at that, of course filth like him wouldn't stay with his captain and sink with the only ship that gave him a home. But what's worse is that he that he was selfish enough to take the map from Blackbeard's grasp before jumping ship. "Hook, he can't see you're here, he'll burn that map to pieces if you show yourself."

I nearly smiled at the kind gesture. Bad blood was always between Blackbeard and me. Whether it owned territory at a local pub, or who got to bed a certain wench to who was finding and stealing the most treasure. In most cases Blackbeard and I were neck to neck and now my competition went down I was the closest to the most deadly pirate of all, Emma was a clear second.

But that didn't stop the irritation from coming up. My job was to guard her bloody ship and her but it seemed like my help wasn't needed if I couldn't go into a damn pub because a damn pirate wouldn't let me get my hands on the bloody map. I almost took it to heart that I was still loathed, but then again, once your captain finds rivalry you have to hate them.

"Then what the bloody hell do you want me here in the first place?"

"To protect me in case things go wrong, which they won't."

"I don't know about that, Swan, bad luck seems follows you everywhere."

"The cards are always in my favor, Hook," she smirked touching my hook gently and giving me a coy smile. For a moment it seemed as if her eyes shimmered with the same excitement like they used to. But it seemed that my prediction was wrong when she turned away her gaze and cleared her throat.

"Righty, so, I shall see you and Smee at sundown." This caused Smee to drop the box he was holding and give me a look of irritation.

"Captain, I highly disagree to this." He whined kicking the box to a crew mate. This caused Emma to knock her head back and laugh. She smacked Smee playfully on the back and wrapped her arm around his neck.

"Smee, it'll just be like old times! Won't you at least keep Hook from gunning down any man he deems unworthy?"

I couldn't help but smile seeing Smee cringe at her touch. He was almost afraid of the woman. As volatile as she could be, she was right. It would be over a decade since the last time the three of us were on an adventure like this. That old man hasn't tasted an adventure like this in nearly three years. I smirked seeing his body relax once Emma had turned her attention back to me.

"So, at sunset, I want you concealed and hidden until I can get the map." She poked my chest and slid around me toward the shops and stores. Bouncing along on her heels I watched as people cleared out of her way, that woman could give you the most heartwarming smile one minute and slice your throat open the next. I turned to Smee who was shaking his head in doubt.

"I don't like this, Captain; we shouldn't be helping her out. It's putting your trust into a bloody cobra." I grinned patting the balding man on the head.

"If there's one thing about cobras, Smee, it's that they can be tamed." I wasn't dismissing Smee's but merely sidestepping it. If there's one thing about Emma Swan, it was that she kept to her word and that she remained true to it. Swore on her ship and livelihood that she'd follow it through. I didn't completely trust her because no smart pirate would.

I entered the pub behind a couple of Emma's crew, taking my cover in the corner of the room, I watched Emma remove her hat and place it on a table nearby. The pub was lively with gossip and at the center of it was our target. The bastard stood on a table with beer in his hand; he was filthy head-to-toe. I briefly wondered if the last time he bathed was when he jumped ship.

The crowd was eating up his gallivant story on how he got his hands on the treasure map. Other pirates came up to Emma offering her a drink, she smiled happily at them before dismissing them. I ignored the pang of jealousy in my chest; instead of watching Emma I turned my attention back to Snake. I watched as she began to walk around the room, stalking her prey, readying herself to go in for the kill. By the look of it our target was starting to get her attention.

"There I was facing inevitable doom while Obessa was breaking the ship apart, gold and jewels were spewing everywhere. Blackbeard grasps me by the shoulder and thrusts the map into my hands. And before he throws me off into the row boat he yells; 'Avenge me, Snake!'" People began to clap while I rolled my eyes. Smee wasn't taking the story either by the way he was downing the beer.

Emma started to clap the loudest from everyone else. One by one the clapping ceased and it was just her. She always knew how to quiet a room. Snake got off the table and raised his head to Emma, as if she was almost insulting him by his lie.

Snake approached Emma with predatory steps. I watched the filth approach and take a small sniff of her hair. She seemed unfazed by the creep's movements. "Welcome back to the Wobbly Boat, Captain Swan," he growled into her ear.

"It's always a pleasure, Snake." She mumbled playing with the buttons on her jacket. It surprised me that he had recognized her and she seemed to be a regular here. I gave a side glance to Smee who shrugged his shoulders just as confused as me. Snake continued to circle around, her sniffing and watching her with hungry eyes. I looked over at the other tables filled with Snake's crew no doubt he had one banded together after Blackbeard's death.

Time was ticking by and I was growing impatient; I low, however, knew that if I were to reveal myself now all would be ruined. If Emma was positive she could get her hands on that map, who was I to interrupt? My direct course of action would have been to just hit the bastard in the nose and demand for the map but that's why Emma asked for me to remain hidden.

It started to annoy me as he touched her arms, felt her hair, and the way he started at her, it was almost like he was dehydrated and she was the Havana he was waiting for all along. I bit down on the inside of my lip trying my hardest to not do anything rash seeing this man assault her with just his eyes. Emma had a plan and I was sure that she'd handle this on her own.

"What can I do for such a beautiful captain this evening?"{He said with hand hovering above her ass. I felt Smee clamp a hand on my arm to keep me from jumping up. The jealousy was rising from my toes to my chest and I began to see red. I could see the coy smile on her face as he did another full circle only this time to clean closely to her face.

"I need you to hand that pretty little map of yours that Blackbeard gave to you." I watched Snake's expression change from hungry to completely starved. In one motion, he had an arm wrapped around her waist and brought her in close. I could see his free hand grasping her ass. I felt my hand wrap around my flintlock.

"You know that you were always Blackbeard's favorite, and when he handed this map to me, it was like he pushed his soul into me. Now, you can be my favorite. But if you want this map, I think you know what a lonely sailor like me wants." I stood up slowly, trying to not blow my cover; I couldn't see anything but Snake's hand on her damn ass. It was dead quiet in the tavern.

All eyes were feasted upon Emma and Snake. Before I could make my move to kill the damn bastard I heard Emma laughs. It wasn't a fake laugh, or her usual terrifying laugh that inflicted fear onto anyone. But it was her real genuine laugh, as if Snake had told her a joke instead of insinuating that she needed to sleep with him to get her hands on the map.

I saw Emma reach around behind Snake but before I could make any sense of what was happening Emma smashed a bottle over Snake's head. He stumbled backwards but Emma grasped him by the collar and brining the broken glass to his throat. He began to struggle which only infuriated heQuickly with the hand that had him by the collar she reached out and grasped Snake painfully between the legs. I saw Smee cringe in pain as if Emma had grasped him there. Every man cringed seeing at the death grip she had on his groin.

Snake yelped and tried to move but Emma held onto him and brought the broken glass closer to his throat. She smiled genuinely and leaned close to his face, I could see that his eyes were fear stricken and I was beginning to place a bet on how long it would take him before he pissed himself. Emma spoke loudly and clearly so that every man in the pub could hear her.

"I assume, lonely piece gutter filth like you, is to want to keep the only thing that makes him a man. Now, let me rephrase my question, you weak excuse for a captain. You're going to hand over that map that rightly belongs to me. My patience has run low and I am bloodthirsty." She growled which made Emma's entire crew stand up when Snake's crew of fifteen stood up. It was thirty against fifteen and Snake was looking pretty down.

"My men easily best yours; I'd rather not have to scar the barmaid's mind for life if you decide to fight." Snake was shaking when he held up his hands to signal his men to sit back down. He cleared his throat, nodding to Emma while she released him. He sunk down onto the seat and sighed. It looked like his free party life was over now that Emma was getting what she wants.

"Blackbeard wanted me to give it to you, but I didn't think you'd actually come for it." He griped before pulling the beloved map out of his pocket and entrusting it into her hands. Emma's eyes softened at the sight of it but only for a couple of seconds. She tucked it into her pocket and patted Snake on the shoulder before turning and walking out the door.

**[A/N] **

**WOW! Thank you guys for the immediate reviews and follows! Please spread the story around! Thank you guys for the heartwarming support! **


	3. Chapter 3

"What the hell was that about?"

I growled following Emma onto the ship. Most of the men stayed back at another pub celebrating a brand new journey. I, on the other hand, had to find out how she knew my worst competitor. Emma clutched the map in her hands like it was her own soul, as if the map itself would combust into flames if she loosened her grip the slightest.

Emma sighed placing it delicately on her desk before turning around, her face held no emotion that I could recognize. That was Emma, though; she was the best at keeping her thoughts and her feelings to herself. But right now, I didn't care if I was hurting her feelings. She ran a hand through her hair while shrugging her shoulders and turning back to her desk.

"What are you talking about?"

I could feel my blood starting to simmer; she was purposely lying and acting like I didn't hear a damn word that Snake told her. She was a familiar to him; every look he gave her was a look of longing. She knew Blackbeard and my gut was telling me it was in a way that I didn't want to even hear about.

"Don't you dare lie to me; you tell me the damn truth, Emma!" She turned with a smile on her face, a laugh passed her lips. My blood then went from a simmer to a straight boil. She was acting like a damned child.

"I don't think you understand, Hook, I don't have to tell you anything."

Those words sliced through me with a sharp twist. She was right, I was barking at her like she was still my wife and my beloved. How far away she and I were from that stage now, but that didn't stop me from pressing the subject.

"You may not be my wife anymore, but you have an obligation to tell me why you and Blackbeard knew each other." I hissed, her expression solidified and she turned on her heels toward the map. My feet were melted into the floor boards; I was afraid what I was about to here.

"Pirates know each other, Hook, he and I traded together, nothing more." She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she turned back to me. I knew she was lying by the way her eyebrow twitched, a habit she had whenever she felt guilty about lying to me. I managed to uproot my feet and I stepped close to her, closer than comfort.

"I've seen men stare at women with hungry eyes after a day, but Snake's eyes held hunger that was more than just 'trading' expeditions, Emma."

Her breath caught in her throat, in that second I grasped my map off the desk and paraded off her ship. I wasn't going to let this subject crash and burn easily. She and I were nowhere near done with that conversation but I wasn't going to listen to anymore lies, but that was for the fact that I couldn't stand to hear her lie.

When we had finally spent the first day on the seas, and after my blood had returned to the normal temperature. Emma and I met in my quarters to decide to where to lead our ships. Which meant there would be more arguing and more bickering, it was only fun when you actually liked to banter with the person you're supposed to be bantering with.

Smee sat in the middle of the desk while Emma and I argued over the courses to take. This argument had spawned when she was completely avoiding a course that would take us out of the incoming storms way. It would be faster to get to the next destination than have to risk it in a tsunami. She wasn't having it; nevertheless, she kept her knife planted onto the course that she wanted.

"We're taking this course; this is what the map wants us to take!" Emma growled placing her finger on the map.

"I'm not leading my men into Dead Man's Waters; you know ships never survive through those storms!" I hissed. I wasn't going to lead my men plus her crew into a storm that would very well be the death of two of the greatest pirates of all time. My title was more important than her.

"Blackbeard made his way through those waters!"

I felt that pang of jealousy strike me once again, ignoring the feeling and trying to keep my blood at a steady level. "If your memory is wavering out Emma, let me remind you _that his ship still went down_." Her eyes started to burn with anger. I had hit soft spot; damn did it feel good to strike her right where it hurt.

She slammed her palms onto the table, causing Smee to nearly jump out of his skin. Cringing back, I could see that he was trying to doze through our bickering. I began to wonder if he was starting to miss when Emma and I spent countless hours arguing on courses to take when we were married. Did this almost normal for him?

"We're going to follow the damn map, because the map has the damn directions, we're avoiding your route, write the coordinates down already."

"I'm not writing anything down until you consider that you're leading both our ships into a bloody tsunami, you ignorant wench!" I yelled, my irritation had flown off the ship and I wasn't going to sit here and have her tell me what to do, on my _own damn ship_ nonetheless. Emma' eyes narrowed with seething fury as her face slowly started to turn scarlet.

"I considered your route, I didn't like it and we're going to follow that route, you stubborn arise!"

"If I may interject," Smee said suddenly, it was merely a whisper but it both caused Emma and me to twist our heads toward him. Smee drew a line intersecting between the map's course and mine; it led us right out of the storm and back onto the course.

"This is probably the easiest route to take, and it won't cause you two to argue for another hour." He said almost proudly. Emma and I opened our mouth's to object but Smee had already flown out the door and was barking orders. The room filled up with silence, Emma finally broke from her frozen state and immediately slipped out of my quarters.

A day later, Smee and I lead the ships to an island that would be a good place to start gathering fruit and food for the long voyage. Emma swung into my quarters where Smee and I stood deciding what course to take. One look at her angry face and shaking body sent Smee scurrying out the door. _So much for a first mate, _I thought before giving her a fake smile.

"Why are we stopping on this island?

"Because we need the men to take a break and relax for a day before we head into 'Seafaring Haunt'"

"You don't get to call where to take the ships, the map does."

"If I have to lead my men into dangerous waters like this, I shall make whatever call that keeps them alive. If you see that as an unfit decision then you can freely take your ship the way it's supposed to go."

"So, you're going to lead us to this damned island?"

I looked up at the island, and saw nothing wrong with it. There was no spewing volcano, rapid beasts coming from the bushes, or undead pirates rising out from the water. The water was clear and there was no sign of a storm, the island was a perfect place.

Then, it hit me like a bullet to the chest. The clear skies, the white sand, clear water, and beautiful trees. I hadn't recognized the island without a piece of a broken ship on the front of the island. Which is why I made the mistake of choosing this island, a sigh escaped my lips as I turned to her.

"I had no intention to bring you here, if I knew it was this island-"

"Forget it," she hissed and stormed back out the door. I groaned, sinking into my seat, I stared at the damn island. How had I been so foolishly blind? How had I not noticed this island was the same island that Emma and I married on? Where our names were carved into a distant tree on the island, or where the very bungalow she and I first made love was still there?

"Brilliant, bloody brilliant, Killian." I muttered.

Emma and I stood far apart from each other as the crew swapped ship stories and pirate tales. Smee could see the divide between us and gave me solace in it. He could see I had considerably wronged this situation and I had no intention of trying to fix it.

"Aye, when I was a 'mere lad and I was sleeping wiff the farmer's daughter and the father caught me jimmin' into 'er bedroom window."

"Not as bad as me, I nearly got me balls seared off with a bloody pitchfork 'ecause the missus 'aught me wif the preacher's lady."

This caused a round of laughter even Emma cracked a smile. For some reason I found nothing funny, so instead of being a stick in the mud I stood up and excused myself to go find more firewood as an excuse to keep the good times going for as long as they had.

I found solace beside a fallen tree and stared at the hook that was a makeshift hand. I sighed tracing the sharp edge. Every knick and small scratch had a memory engraved into it. While the damned hook was a constant reminder of a past that I never wanted to remember. My heart was beating painfully against my chest.

"I always liked you with the hook, it made you sexier." Emma's voice broke the silence. I didn't move nor did I look up to meet her eyes. I half smiled and held it up to the moonlight. Where it glimmered, I could see Emma staring at it as well. She came over and sat next to me. She popped open her flask and took a long swig before handing it to me.

"It's been so long since we were last here, don't you agree?" She whispered staring down at her bloodied knuckles. Her head turned towards me as I brought the flask to my mouth. Not answering I took a large sip, letting it slide down my throat holding back the things I so desperately wanted to let out into the open.

"It seems that this island has more haunted memories than you and I." I said handing the flask back over.

"Nothing has more haunted memories than you and I, Hook." She sighed, taking another swig. I could see that every time she took a sip it was like another lifetime ticked by in her eyes. I could almost see what she was thinking and it made my heart ache worse. She was right, no one, not even a pirate that lived on the sea for all his life could compare to the things we've seen and done.

The silence filled the space between us as I tried to recall a star I needed to follow. I found Orion's Belt and then counted to the second star to the right. I stood holding my eye on it as it twinkled brighter than usual. I could see Emma tilt her head to the side and look to where I was seeing. I held out my hand to her and gave her a half smile.

"Humor me, will you please?"

Emma gave me a look but grasped my hand and let me lead the way.

Finally, after an hour of walking around Emma and I had finally found the tree. It was the highest and the biggest of the island. Emma walked in front of me, inspecting the tree closely before placing her hand on part of the tree. I knew she found the spot where she and I had marked our names. Engraved it with the hook that I had now, I had just gotten used to the damn thing when she and I got to this island.

She dropped to her knees and dug her hand underneath a raised root. I kept my eyebrow raised while she dug out something from the ground. It was a wooden box with her initial carved on the front. She flipped a small cover and pulled out a bottle. A grin spread across her face and she swished around the liquid for a moment into the moonlight.

"It's that bottle I stole from that wine maker," she grinned opening up the bottle. She took a long swig before handing it over to me. I sniffed the bottle letting memories flood into my mind. It was from the village that she and I first met. She had stolen the bottle to celebrate our escape plan together. Who knew down the sea that she and I would become pirates?

"We were so young and so foolish back then," she said sitting against the tree. I joined her taking a sip from the bottle. "We were kids and just needed to get the hell out of that damned village." She let out a small sigh before turning her head toward me. She placed her hand on my hook; she gave it a long look before looking at me.

"How did you fall for me when all I had was one hand?" I asked, it always confused me to how a woman like Emma would fall for a one handed pirate but the look on her face made my heart begin to pound into my ears.

"I would have been in love with you if you had one leg. It was the man with the iron heart on the inside that I fell for," She admitted taking a long sip from this bottle this time. I began to wonder when the last time I had seen Emma like this, to be so close with her and actually feel her next to me. I felt like it hadn't been that long ago, but I had countless dreams about her since she walked off my ship so many years ago.

"Love is petty and useless nowadays, isn't it?" she mumbled looking over at me. Part of me wanted to disagree that love wasn't useless but enjoyable but then another part of me, the part that was torn in shreds, said that it was useless as fake jewel; pretty on the outside but empty and worthless on the inside. I didn't answer, I just took another sip of the wine and let agreed to whatever answer came first.

**[A/N] **

**Thank you guys for the favorites and reviews! I hope it all makes you happy!**


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a week since Emma and I last spoke, I was doing my best to avoid her and the ship made it that much easier to succeed. The journey was starting out slow and my men seemed to pass the time by making guesses on what type of foes we'd go up against. I stood at the wheel trying to keep my eyes away from Emma's ship but they failed and I felt myself looking over. She was bent over at a table staring down into the map.

Her hair was flying back in golden waves behind her as she started tracing her finger along the map. While I looked at her, I started to remember by how different she looked than when I last saw her. Her eyes that were almost lively were barely hollow now, and her skin that was white as pure snow was now tanned to a gold. It was her eyes that caught me, part of me wanted to try and break her open and fill those emotionless eyes, and then part of me knew that if I looked into the mirror I'd find the same thing.

Smee barking at me pulled me out of my thoughts, I turned seeing his eyes slide from Emma back to me. He gave me a look of disbelief. "What do you want, Smee? Other than to bug me?" I grumbled, trying to not let the look get to me. Smee may not be a father but he was the type of man that was just born with the fatherly looks.

"I thought I'd tell you that there's nothing written on the map for the area we're headed for," he spoke slowly which caused me to jerk my head towards him. "What are you talking about? The map has a title for every damned island we've passed, how does it not have a title for this part of the sea?"

Smee didn't even start to answer because I heard Emma shout from her ship, the color in Smee's reddened face began to drain. My hands slipped from the wheel and I walked to the side of the ship where I was sure my eyes were playing tricks on me. The water beside the ship began to ripple and shake, then slowly I could see part of a ship beginning to rise out of the ocean. I whipped my head back to Emma who was staring at the same thing on her side of the ship.

"I can see why they didn't write the title," Smee whispered as the full ship finally hit the water. It was rusted, covered in barnacle and sea weed. The thing looked like it had been through hell and back, and that's what scared me most. "They never got the chance to finish it," I hissed back starting to see what looked like actual pirates rise from the ship.

"You owe me twenty gold, Jameson."

I heard one of the boys say to another, looks like he had one the bet. One of the most outrageous bets of them all and it turns out he was right. I made a mental note to pay him twenty gold myself if we survived this thing. I saw a door on the ghost ship slam open and from the crew of undead men, the captain came hobbling out. He was a mixture of green skin and bones, his jaw was completely eroded but I could see that parts of a long beard still hung onto the sides of his face.

I unsheathed my sword while some men were already frantically running down to get the cannons ready. My eyes didn't move from the undead captain as he moved through his crew, he only had one eye and the spot where the other should be was just a dark hole. I was almost mesmerized by the undead legion of pirates but that was shattered when the captain let out a blood curling scream and waved his sword to my ship.

The crew members flung themselves onto my ship in a matter of minutes. I had already driven my sword into the throat of the first mate. I knew that the ship that had pulled up beside Emma had already started the siege I knew Emma could handle her own. I ducked when one of the crew swung his sword at me. I swung my sword and cut off his only bone legs letting him crawl around on deck. Smee sliced through two men while I made my way to the captain.

He was fighting against one of my men, he knocked his skull into his face I marched closer seeing the spray of blood and cries rise into the air. I held my ground as the men below shot into the ship next to me. My eyes wouldn't move from the captain as I got closer. He was the first to swing his sword, I caught the swipe with my hook and drove my sword over his arm. Slicing through I heard the limb fall to the floor and he let out a laugh.

He switched the sword into his other hand and lunged again. I matched his move and met it with my sword clanking it with his. Our movements matched each other equally as the fight turned into a battle of wits. For an undead captain he still knew how to fight with ease. I blocked another swipe toward my gut and brought my sword down missing his wrist by mere inches. His eyes burned black through me while his menacing smile made him look almost terrifying.

I wasn't paying enough attention when he kicked me into the gut and I flew right back. I hit the floor feeling my sword knock out of my hand. The captain let out a holler and I felt another wave of cannons fly. I heard my name being shouted in the distance but it was covered over another wave of cannons. I felt for my flintlock that was kept safely in my boot. My eye sight was spinning before me when I got my hand around the base.

The captain held up his sword to finish me off but I had matched his wits this time. I pulled up my flint and pulled the trigger letting the bullet soar into his chest. He stumbled back, dropping his sword in shock. It was as if everything was in slow motion just then. The men next to me slowed down while I picked up the sword, I couldn't hear the next wave of firing shots. All I could hear was my breathing as I swung that sword around and then the sound of two things falling onto the deck.

I sighed in relief and turned around to Smee who just finished off another duo of men. My head went instantly back into the reality of things and my head turned towards Emma's ship. From the distance she was just as breathtaking as the first day I met her. The sound of clanging metal and her long blond hair swung behind her as she twisted her sword through another pirate. Her men were easily outnumbered and I could see she was just beginning to falter in her strides. Sighing, I grasped some hanging rope and backed myself up.

"SMEE," I yelled seeing him pick up another sword about to make his way toward another. "Don't bring my ship down, hmm?" "Where are you going?" he asked shoving his shoulder against another body. I smirked and looked over at Emma that let out a yell as she kicked a pirate off her ship. "Saving my ex-wife," with that I took a running start and leapt off the ship and swung my body over the side of her ship. Emma sliced off another undead comrade when I hit the deck. "Don't you have your own dead men to kill?" She roared driving her sword into the belly of one. I gave a quick look back seeing my men had already begun to raid the ghost ship.

"My men have already breached the other ship, what can you say about yours?" I said firing my gun into an incoming pirate.

Like clockwork Emma held up her hand and flung it down. The cannons fired sending in a stream of cannons into the ship, it hit all the weak spots and better yet they had torn right through something flammable. The ship was in fire in seconds, she smirked at me before lunging over my shoulder and fighting against another dead ally while I stood in shock. "Catch up, Killian," she whispered and launched herself into the middle of the fight.

It had been sunset when the last of the pirates were finally kicked off the ships. We had just gotten to an island that was close enough to start burials for some of the fallen comrades. We were all drenched in blood and our bodies ached. It had been one hell of a fight and worth winning but then again it wasn't worth losing four men. Nothing was.

The men sat at the island drinking heavily trying to get the images of the burning dead pirates and their own crew mates dying out of their minds. I didn't want to tell them that they'd drink themselves to death before they would get those images out of their heads. I looked for Emma as the doctor took care of the minimal wounds on the men. Funerals were never her strong suit. Blame that for having to bury her only living family member when she was only a child.

The sun was dipping into the sea when I spotted her out by herself. She stood out in the water her body was shaking and looking around frantically. I sighed, removing my boots and began to waft out to her. When I reached her, my heart nearly tore open seeing her fear stricken eyes. She had come all this way so her crew wouldn't see the own fear in her eyes.

She was covered head to toe in blood, it matted her hair and was beginning to dye it into a muddy brown color. She shook furiously and cringed away from me as I let my hand touch hers gently. She held a cloth that was still unused in her hand. In her other she held her flintlock, ready at any moment's notice. She let her eyes slide to mine but they didn't last long enough for me to look her in the eyes.

"E-e-everywhere I see blood," she whispered in a broken tone, and then her eyes met back to me with a chilling fear. "I see blood, _everywhere_." She cried out, dropping everything in her hands and beginning to claw at her arms, her hands, her face, her hair. It only smeared the fresh blood and the more she saw it the more terrified she got. I grasped her hands in attempt to soothe her but she fought back and screamed out.

"I can't get it off of me! Everywhere, it's bloody everywhere!" She screamed tears streaming her face. "Let me help you, and I'll get it off of you." She looked up at me, her eyes searched mine whether I was lying or not. From the sincerity in my tone I nodded in agreement grasping the rag that was starting to sink into the water. As I rang the rag out Emma gave me a small nod of approval, her eyes never blinking as I slowly began to undress her. I stripped her down bare letting her clothes soak under her flintlock nearby.

I gently began to wipe away the blood from her back and arms. Gently scrubbing away the dried blood, I felt like I was almost scrubbing her clean of the memories that haunted her. Seeing her in this fragile state made me wish I was washing away the nightmares. When I circled around to get her chest and neck, she leaned into me. Placing her forehead on my chest as I gently scrubbed everywhere.

My hands were beginning to shake, I never thought I would be in this situation again. To be wiping off blood off her while she stood numb, unsure what to do with herself. This was one of the weakest points that I could ever see her or she'll ever let me. She was that broken girl I had met years ago all over again. Her eyes barricaded while I cleaned her off.

One memory was ripping through me while the water around us was starting to be red. I cleaned off her face and finally I dipped her back, keeping her head in my lap while I washed out all the blood from her hair. She stayed curled into my chest as I took every strand and cleaned it out properly. By the time her hair was golden and her body was clean, the moon was high above and the fire close by was dying down. I wrapped Emma in my coat and carried her quietly back to the ship.

She laid in my red shirt, her eyes focused on her clean hands while I hung up my coat and vest. I was beginning to dim the lamp when Emma grasped my hand. I looked over at her, she tugged gently leading me into the bed. I hesitated for a moment, should I be slipping back into bed with one of my competitors? One of the people that would love to see me fail? Should I be slipping back into bed with my ex-wife? A woman who broke me and shattered me into a million pieces?

At that moment, I realized that it wasn't just about us being enemeies or past lovers anymore. I knew when Emma needed help and when she needed _me._ So, for tonight I slid in next to her cold body and her arms encircled around my chest while her leg draped between mine. She wasn't my enemy tonight, tonight she was the woman I married such a long time ago.

I made an agreement to myself that when she had finally fallen asleep, I'd sneak back out and check on the men and try to drink away my own frantic haunted memories. I was sober, my hand was beginning to shake while my haunted memories were threatening to sink back.

I laid there with her in my arms staring up at the flickering ceiling, waiting until she fell asleep. After her breathing was finally steady I began to move when she grasped onto me tightly. In a straight voice, she murmured. "Please, don't leave me." Her voice cracked which brought me crashing back down to Earth. In seconds, I was turned over on my side with her against my chest and my hand stroking her hair while she gripped onto me.

And then without rum as my sleep aid, I finally began to fall asleep feeling a heart beat against my chest and a sense of safety wash over me.

**[A/N] I suck at action scenes, I'm so sorry! I hope you enjoyed it though! **


End file.
